General Motors has inaugurated its new flexi-engine facility in Talegaon, GM’s first powertrain plant that enables petroleum and diesel engines to be manufactured simultaneously. The facility represents investment of $230 million. It has an initial annual production capacity of 160,000 engines and is designed to accommodate future expansion. The new engine plant will begin by producing engines for small passenger cars manufactured by GM in India.
“This marks the beginning of GM’s next chapter in India. The opening of our new facility will enable our company to become more competitive and keep up with the growing demand for our vehicles. GM India’s sales have grown significantly since we began rolling out our mini-cars, the Chevrolet Spark and Beat, at our Talegaon plant about two years back. We appreciate the support of the Maharashtra government and our employees across the country. Their backing has enabled us to build a world-class engine facility in record time of less than two years,” GM India President and MD Karl Slym said.
On Aug. 28, 2008, GM signed an agreement with the Government of Maharashtra for the construction of a new engine plant adjacent to its vehicle manufacturing facility. Construction started in December 2008, with pilot production commencing in March 2010. The engine plant complements GM’s modern vehicle manufacturing facilities in Talegaon and Halol, Gujarat, as well as the GM Technical Centre – India in Bangalore, which is carrying out a range of engineering, design and R&D activities.